1984-1985 Honda Sabre VF700S
The 1984-1985 Honda Sabre VF700S was a tariff-buster that makes a great rider today, if you can find one.
July/August 2006
By Richard Backus
 |
Associate editor Hall at speed aboard our Sabre test bike.
Photo by Richard Backus
|
Years produced (U.S.): 1984-1985
Total production: N/A
Claimed power: 76hp @ 10,500rpm
Top speed: 121mphEngine type: 699cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke V-four
Weight (dry): 224kg (494lb)MPG: 28-48
Price then: $3,398 (1985)
Price now: $750-$2,000
RELATED CONTENT
The tiny racer appears, sliding around the corner, with a baritone growl streaming from the twin ex...
“The thinking man’s motorcycle.” That was Cycle magazine’s take on Honda’s half-liter four, the CB5...
3,754 Miles and 38 days on a 1973 Honda CB750....
The BikeBandit.com/Motorcycle Classics 1973 Honda CB500 is done – and one lucky reader is taking it...
Available for just two short years from 1984 to 1985, Honda's VF700S Sabre represents an interesting chapter in motorcycle history as one of a group of Japanese motorcycles referred to as the Tariff Busters.
In the early 1980s, Japanese motorcycles were a thorn in ailing Harley-Davidson's side, and in 1983 H-D successfully lobbied for an International Trade Commission tariff to quell the overseas invasion of 750cc and larger motorcycles. Known as Section 202, the tariff was aimed squarely at Japan and levied a heavy penalty on bikes of 700cc capacity and over. It was expected to slow the Japanese onslaught and give H-D a leg up in the market.
When protestations against the tariff failed, Japanese manufacturers responded by introducing new bikes with engines that fell just under 700cc. Honda responded by sleeving down its moderately successful 750cc V45 Sabre to 698.9cc. It was, by any measure a taunting, in-your-face rebuff to the new tariff.
A technological tour de force when introduced in 1982, Honda launched the V45 with great fanfare. With its compact, 750cc liquid-cooled V4 engine bubbling over with features such as double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder and shaft drive, the Sabre was supposed to be the spiritual heir to Honda's CB750 of 1969: it was not. While there was no questioning the V45's technical prowess, it failed to illicit the same excitement as the original CB750, and in fact was greeted only warmly by the buying public.
In its tariff-busting transition, the VF700S Sabre lost a few horses (down to a claimed 76hp versus the V45's claimed 82hp), but internal changes boosted midrange power while a high final drive ratio kept top speed up. (Period tests showed the new Sabre only .15 seconds and .08mph slower in the quarter-mile dash compared to the V45.)
With styling carried over from the V45, the Sabre presented a sport bike image, something for hustling through corners and burning up the road. The menacing, blacked out finish suggested speed and grace, and the stretched out front fork gave the bike a long, hungry look.
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
Next >>